November 16, 2006, 9:54 PM CT

Emperor Penguin Physiology

Long before they lit up movie screens in animated feature films or enthralled documentary film audiences worldwide with the story of their endless struggle to survive and reproduce, Emperor penguins intrigued early Antarctic explorers.

As movie makers prepare this weekend to release "Happy Feet," about an animated Emperor who loves to dance, and the Hallmark Channel readies the cable-television premier of the documentary "March of the Penguins" on Sat., Nov. 25, 2006, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is making available B-roll of the penguins in Antarctica. The agency is also offering journalists the opportunity to ask Antarctic researchers questions about why the birds still challenge the scientific mind.

On the eve of International Polar Year (IPY), Emperor penguins, which can dive unharmed to depths that no human could survive unaided, still fascinate researchers.

By studying the animals' physiology and the way their bodies respond to the crushing pressure of deep dives, these NSF-funded scientists, who also are medical doctors, may one day provide clues to help improve surgical procedures and anesthesia. The study of Emperors also is very much in the spirit of NSF's IPY theme of attempting to understand what makes the processes of life in the cold and dark unique.........

Posted by: Ashley      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 9:25 PM CT

Edible Food Wrap Kills Deadly E. Coli

Researchers have improved upon an edible coating for fresh fruits and vegetables by enabling it to kill deadly E. coli bacteria while also providing a flavor-boost to food. Composed of apple puree and oregano oil, which acts as a natural antibacterial agent, the coating shows promise in laboratory studies of becoming a long-lasting, potent alternative to conventional produce washes, according to a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Lleida in Spain.

The study comes on the heels of the recent deadly E. coli outbreak in spinach and amid growing concern by experts that some produce-cleaning techniques may not be effective in destroying E. coli. The study is scheduled for the Nov. 29 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

"All produce-cleaning methods help to some degree, but our new coatings and films may provide a more concentrated, longer-lasting method for killing bacteria," says Research Leader Tara H. McHugh, Ph.D., a food chemist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Albany, Calif. As the films are made of fruit or vegetable puree, they also provide added health benefits such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, she says.

Researchers have known about the antimicrobial activity of plant-derived essential oils for some time, but McHugh says that her group is the first to incorporate them into a fruit- or vegetable-based edible food wrap for the purpose of improving food safety. Three years ago, she and her associates developed a similar edible food wrap, but without the antimicrobial properties.........

Posted by: Sarah      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 8:44 PM CT

Origin Of Appalachian Mountains

Geologists have developed a new theory to explain how and when the Appalachian Mountain range was created. Their research redraws the map of the planet from 420 million years ago.

The researchers recently discovered a piece of the Appalachian Mountains in southern Mexico, a location geologists long had assumed was part of the North American Cordillera. The Cordillera is a continuous sequence of mountain ranges that includes the Rocky Mountains. It stretches from Alaska to Mexico and continues into South America.

For the past decade, geologists have collected information from Mexico's Acatlán Complex, a rock outcropping the size of Massachusetts. As they uncovered each new piece of data from the complex, evidence contradicting earlier assumptions about the origins of that part of Mexico emerged.

"It was a story that had the Appalachians written all over it," said Damian Nance, Ohio University professor of geological sciences and lead author of an article detailing the findings, which was reported in the recent issue of Geology. "This will change the way geologists look at Mexico".

It also changes existing theory regarding the creation of the Appalachians, which has radically altered scientists' understanding of the planet's geography, said Nance. Age data, newly unearthed fossils and chemical analysis of the rocks show that the complex is much younger than previously thought. It records a pivotal part of the Appalachian story not preserved elsewhere.........

Posted by: Tyler      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 8:27 PM CT

Exotic Relatives Of Protons And Neutrons

A team of scientists, including four at The Johns Hopkins University, has discovered two new subatomic particles, rare but important relatives of the familiar, commonplace proton and neutron.

Named "Sigma-sub-b" particles, the two exotic and incredibly quick to decompose particles are like rare jewels mined from mountains of data, said team leader Petar Maksimovic, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

"These particles are members of what we call the 'baryonic' family, so-called for the Greek word 'barys,' which means heavy," Maksimovic said. "Baryons are particles that contain three quarks, which are the fundamental building blocks of matter".

The simplest baryons are the proton and neutron, which make up the nuclei of atoms of ordinary matter. "These newest members of that family are unstable and ephemeral, but they help us to understand the forces that bind quarks together into matter," Maksimovic said.

Containing the second-heaviest quark - called "the bottom quark" - the new particles are the heaviest baryons found yet: heavier even than a complete helium atom, which has two protons, though lighter than a lithium atom, which has three.

How rare is Sigma-sub-b? The team painstakingly analyzed a hundred trillion proton-antiproton collisions at the Tevatron, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, to find about 240 Sigma-sub-b candidates, Maksimovic said. The new particles are extremely short-lived, decaying within a tiny fraction of a second.........

Posted by: Sarah      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 7:10 PM CT

Dieting Vs Exercise

Those in their 50s and 60s who want to lose weight might consider heading to the cardio workout room instead of counting calories, suggests new research out this month.

Both those who dieted and those who exercised lost a significant amount of weight, according to findings from an NIH-funded study on whether a calorie-restriction diet can extend lifespan. However, while exercisers maintained their strength and muscle mass and increased aerobic capacity, those who dieted lost muscle mass, strength and aerobic capacity.

"Exercise-induced weight loss provides the additional benefit of improving physical performance capacity," says Edward Weiss, Ph.D., lead author and assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences.

"If push comes to shove and somebody wants to know if they should diet or exercise to lose weight, I would suggest exercise, provided they are willing to put in the extra time and effort and not offset the gains they make by eating more".

Weiss is a part of a Washington University team of scientists who studied healthy 50- to 60-year olds whose body mass index was between 23 and 30, placing them at the high end of normal weight or overweight.

Of the 34 study participants, 18 dieted and 16 exercised to lose weight.........

Posted by: Sean      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 4:42 AM CT

New Treatment Strategy For Thyroid Cancer

The actions of a mutated protein in cells linked to thyroid cancer have been uncovered by researchers at Queen's University. The discovery paves the way for the future development of drugs to more effectively target, treat and possibly even prevent both inherited and non-inherited thyroid cancers.

"We now know why this gene causes these tumours and can start looking at how best to target the mutant proteins so that the cells expressing them can be killed or stopped from growing," says Lois Mulligan, professor of pathology and molecular medicine with the Division of Cancer Biology and Genetics of the Queen's Cancer Research Institute. She is senior author of a study to be published November 15 in the journal Cancer Research.

Taranjit S. Gujral, a Ph D student in Queen's Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and lead author on the paper, developed three-dimensional models of the mutated RET protein implicated in a condition causing cancerous thyroid tumours. The model allowed him to predict and compare the protein's molecular actions and to see that the protein was ten times more active than normal in cells associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia 2B (MEN 2B) syndrome, an inherited cancer syndrome. Co-authors on the study include Vinay K. Singh and Zongchao Jia of Queen's Biochemistry Department.........

Posted by: Sean      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 4:21 AM CT

Neanderthal Genome Sequencing

The veil of mystery surrounding our extinct hominid cousins, the Neanderthals, has been at least partially lifted to reveal surprising results. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) have sequenced genomic DNA from fossilized Neanderthal bones. Their results show that the genomes of modern humans and Neanderthals are at least 99.5-percent identical, but despite this genetic similarity, and despite the two species having cohabitated the same geographic region for thousands of years, there is no evidence of any significant crossbreeding between the two. Based on these early results, Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis last shared a common ancestor approximately 700,000 years ago.

In a paper reported in the November 17, 2006 issue of the journal Science, a team of scientists led by Edward Rubin, director of both JGI and Berkeley Lab's Genomics Division, reports the development of a "Neanderthal metagenomic library," which they used to characterize more than 65,000 DNA base pairs of Neanderthal origin. Their results not only provide new information about Neanderthals, but also point the way to a new strategy for studying aspects of Neanderthal biology that would never be evident from archaeological artifacts and fossils.........

Posted by: William      Permalink         Source

November 15, 2006, 5:11 AM CT

No Link Found Between Viagra and HIV Infection

Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications known as Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have been used by millions of men as safe and effective management options linked to high rates of patient and partner satisfaction. Recent reports have appeared, however, that some individuals have misused this class of drug, combining them with narcotics such as methamphetamines. These reports further note that such individuals may be, in particular, at an increased risk for HIV. If such claims of a large and expanding use of PDE-5 inhibitors are correct, this would signify an important public health concern.

A comprehensive, multi-disciplinary conference funded by the National Institutes of Health sought to determine whether the drug class of PDE-5 inhibitors was contributing to an overall increase in HIV infection. The results of this conference appear in the latest issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Convincing evidence was not found to support the conclusion that PDE-5 inhibitor use is a risk factor for HIV infection. For the large majority of men, PDE-5 inhibitor use is conducted in a stable, committed partner relationship. Under such circumstances, the risk of HIV infection is relatively small. Clinicians and educators did emphasize, however, the importance of safe sex practices for those engaging in risky sexual relations.........

Posted by: Sean      Permalink         Source

November 15, 2006, 4:39 AM CT

Holiday Season Could Ring In 'Heartburn Season'

Making merry is often synonymous with overindulging whether from holiday feasts or rich desserts or alcoholic beverages ringing in the holiday season as "heartburn season".

Heartburn generally caused by naturally occurring acids splashing back up from the stomach is often marked by a characteristic burning sensation that sufferers describe as rolling up into their chest. Fatty foods play a starring role in this process.

"Most of the time heartburn is a nuisance, not a tremendous threat to your health," said Dr. Stuart Spechler, professor of internal medicine in digestive and liver diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "I tell most of my patients that it's going to be a tradeoff is the food going to taste good enough to suffer through the heartburn?

"If you know you're going to eat something that ordinarily gives you heartburn, there are medications that you can take before eating that food that might help".

Prevention now emphasized

For decades, the plop-plop-fizz-fizz approach of antacids taken after people already were experiencing heartburn was the only therapy available. Emphasis has since shifted to prevention.

Those who are planning to indulge in foods likely to cause them heartburn can now take a histamine receptor blocker (H2 blockers), which slow the production of stomach acid and are generally available over the counter.........

Posted by: Sean      Permalink         Source

November 14, 2006, 5:03 AM CT

Ice-breaker Polarstern to explore uncharted seafloor

Huge areas of sea floor (around 3,250 km²) have been freed up by the collapse 4 years ago of the Larsen B platform along the Antarctic Peninsula - leaving a blank spot on Antarctic maps. Polarstern, the research flagship of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, will shortly conduct there the first major biological research, studying living communities, from microbes to whales, including bottom fish and squids.

THE ITINERARY

DEPARTURE - NOVEMBER 23, 2006: CAPE TOWN.

The Polarstern leaves Cape Town, South Africa, heading towards the Weddell Sea (1).

DECEMBER 4/5 TO DECEMBER 14, 2006: NEUMAYER STATION.

The Polarstern stops in the Atka Bay in order to supply the German Neumayer Research Station (2).

DECEMBER 14 TO JANUARY 26, 2006: ANTARCTIC PENINSULA.

The first investigations, on living resources (CCAMLR), take place on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, around the South Shetland Islands (3). The subsequent ecological work (CAML) is located around the Larsen A/B area. If the sea ice is not penetrable, an alternative area around Joinville Island will be used instead (4).

ARRIVAL - JANUARY 30, 2007: PUNTA ARENAS.

The Polarstern will end its expedition in Punta Arenas, Chile on January 30, 2007 (5).........

Posted by: Tyler      Permalink         Source